MultiChoice turns down Canal+ buyout

South Africa’s TV giant MultiChoice said on Monday it would end talks with France’s Canal+ after rejecting a buyout offer that it said significantly undervalued the company.

Canal+, already the largest shareholder with a 30 per cent stake, had proposed to purchase the remaining shares for 105 rand ($5.5) each.

The French company last week offered to acquire South African pay-TV giant MultiChoice for around R31.7bn ($1.7bn).

In a statement issued by the Paris-based firm, Canal+  announced that it submitted a non-binding indicative offer to MultiChoice’s board to acquire all of the issued ordinary shares it does not already own, subject to obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals. https://Ezenwoko’s Blog/french-firm-offers-to-acquire-multichoice-for-1-7bn/

MultiChoice, however, on Monday said that according to a recent valuation exercise, the company was worth much more.

“After careful consideration, the board has concluded that the proposed offer price of R105 in cash significantly undervalues the Group and its future prospects,” the company said.

“Therefore… it has conveyed to Canal+ that – at this proposed price – the letter does not provide a basis for further engagement.”

The board remained open to engage on any offer at a fair price, it said.

Canal+, a subsidiary of the Vivendi group led by billionaire Vincent Bollore, is present in 25 African countries through 16 subsidiaries, and has eight million subscribers, according to the French group’s data.

Its stake in MultiChoice, Africa’s largest pay-TV enterprise, has allowed it to gain a foothold in English-speaking and Portuguese-speaking nations across the continent where MultiChoice has more than 23 million subscribers in more than 50 countries.

AFP